Women and super
On average Australian women still trail behind men when it comes to their super. Vision Super is committed to helping and supporting you to save for a comfortable and financially secure retirement.
Women in Australia generally retire with 24% less super than their male counterparts. (source: womeninsuper.com.au)
With less money saved and longer life expectancies, women need to make the most of every opportunity to save for their future and increase their financial security.
Why is there a gender gap in super?
1 | Women typically continue to earn less than men, with female managers earning less than their male counterparts. |
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2 | Men are more likely to get into management, and if a woman has children, her odds are reduced even more. |
3 | Women continue to spend more time in unpaid domestic, childcare and voluntary work than men. |
4 | Women are more likely to have casual or part-time jobs. |
5 | The current super system is linked to paid work, which leads to women being disadvantaged. |
“The gap has serious implications for women, particularly the likelihood of sole reliance on the Age Pension and subsequently, an acute vulnerability to poverty in retirement.”
- Elizabeth Broderick, Sex Discrimination Commissioner (2007 -2015)
The gender gap affects us all
Whether you’re in a relationship or happily single, it’s always wise to plan independently for your retirement. Relying on someone else, who may not be around when you reach retirement age, could leave you with less than you need to retire comfortably.
Divorce, the death or illness of your partner and other unforeseen circumstances can make retirement difficult. Therefore, it makes sense to plan ahead, and take some steps early on to make sure you, or a woman in your life who you care about, can retire in comfort when the time comes.
Closing the gap
There are number of reasons why women don’t focus on their super. Retirement can seem like a long way away so it’s not a priority, or they don’t earn enough or simply don’t know where to start. No matter what the reason, here are some of the ways you can help to close the gap.
Understand the basics of super
With so much jargon and so many rules and regulations, it’s easy to put managing super in the ‘too-hard’ basket. But don’t worry, we’re here to help bring it back to the basics.
Find your super
If you’ve had part-time or casual jobs, we know it can be difficult to keep track of where your super was paid. Finding an old account could make a big difference to your retirement savings.
There is over $19 billion dollars* in lost and unclaimed super!
Could some of it be yours? We can help you find any lost super or unclaimed super.
*Source: ATO 29 October 2025
Combine your super
The long-term nature of superannuation makes it easy to put off, but small actions taken earlier enough can make a difference in the long run. Like combining your super into one account.
Learn more about rolling your super over into your account in Vision Super.
Contribute to your super
If you work part-time or have a strict budget it can be overwhelming thinking about having to save for retirement. But there are ways. Depending on your income you may be eligible for the Government co-contribution – this is where you put a little bit extra into your super (even just a few dollars a week) and the government kicks in a contribution as well. And, if you’re in a relationship, your partner might even be able to contribute to your super on your behalf – lots of couples use spouse contributions as a way to keep the woman’s super growing while she’s on parental leave.
Learn more about the different ways you can contribute to your super to make it grow.
We're here to help
You can call our Member Services hotline on 1300 300 820.